San Antonio bartenders take steps to start a USBG chapter

San Antonio bartender Houston Eaves is helping to establish a local chapter of the United States Bartenders' Guild.

Photo: Kin Man Hui / San Antonio Express-News

SAN ANTONIO — David Alan remembers when the Texas bartending scene was overlooked.

The author and founder of Tipsy Tech said that for years, barkeeps from the Lone Star State couldn't get the time of day from more prominent, established national markets and brands.

Needing a springboard, a handful of bartenders from Austin established the state's first chapter of the United States Bartenders' Guild in 2008. Dallas and Houston soon followed — and now it's San Antonio's turn.

“In a short amount of time we went from being a market that the national people didn't care about,” said Alan, a past president and founding member of the USBG Austin chapter. “They really didn't care about us. They went to San Francisco, Chicago, Atlanta — they didn't come to Austin or central Texas. They didn't care. We weren't on their radar. And in the years since USBG Texas started, that's all changed.”

The guild is a national organization that promotes education for the professional bartending community. There are 41 active chapters across the nation. Each chapter regularly puts on events and competitions in their cities to shine a spotlight on local talent and provide bartenders access to some of the trade's most distinguished names and brands.

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Last week, Austin's USBG chapter held an unofficial meeting in the Alamo City to discuss starting a local group. The gathering drew about 40 bartenders from the area, a number that shows there's a lot of local interest.

“When we had out first meeting for USBG in Austin to talk about forming that chapter, there were five people there,” Alan said. “And now we have about 140 members. So if San Antonio is starting with 40 people, dude, that's freaking awesome. That's huge for San Antonio.”

The discussion to start a local chapter has been ongoing for years. But it wasn't until recently that the idea started to gain traction.

“It was always a murmur that San Antonio would get a chapter,” said Jessica Sanders, USBG Austin chapter president. “Now, it's bubbled to the surface. The food and cocktail scene has grown exponentially in the last few years. The time is right for San Antonio to have its own identity.”

Houston Eaves, who is the beverage director for The Esquire Tavern and El Mirador, is one of the local bartenders spearheading the process, which is already underway.

First, San Antonio had to get the guild's national folks to disregard a rule that state chapters can't be within two hours of one another — check.

Next, the local group needed to gather 50 signatures from people interested in becoming members — done.

After filing an application with the guild, local officers will have one year to establish a group of at least 40 members. Eaves said he expects to have the San Antonio chapter formed by April.

“People want to learn, and this is a great outlet for it,” said Eaves, who is one of about six San Antonio bartenders who are members of the USBG Austin chapter. “It builds a great community. There are bartenders from every kind of bar: hotels, craft cocktail bars, dive bars. It's a very welcoming community.

“So it really builds a strong bond among the members and the education it provides builds our city as a whole. The whole bar scene will elevate.”